Swapping out OEM distributor with HEI distributor

[Ricko1966]

This is going no where Cali Square bodies were carbureated and knock sensor we could go round and round about this. I still don't agree with you,I think even a crude knock sensor can be used as a tuning tool,just like and adjustable vacuum advance but better and lots of guys are pulling timing and using adjustable vacuum advance to kill detonation they only have occasionally in certain conditions,a crude knock sensor woukd help right there,just for that minute instaed of pulling timing all the time. As I said before,I don't want to argue about. You have your opinion I have mine. I'm done.

 

[zulander]

Jealous of you all in Texas, no rust on that baby, looks nice !!

 

[mlparkey]

I had a similar situation with my 1986 C10. It was originally a California truck with a 305 that had ESC and CCC (computer controlled carburetor). The previous owner dropped in a crate 350 and kept the original distributor, carburetor and 700R4 transmission. It ran okay, but nothing like my 1976 C10 with a 350 and turbo 350 transmission. I started having some carb issues so I swapped out the Rochester CCC with a non CCC quadrajet. The throttle response and performance increase was immediate but it still wasn't exactly where I wanted it. Then I swapped out the ESC distributor for an HEI unit with vacuum advance. I set my base timing at 10⁰ advance. I get 17⁰ of vacuum advance from a manifold vacuum source for a total of 27⁰ advance at idle. I get a total of 34⁰ mechanical advance at 3000 rpm. The difference is like night and day. Even with the 3.08 gear in back, it really pulls hard on acceleration. I can run regular gas and I have no pinging or detonation issues at all. My '76 had 3.73 gears in the back so it was much quicker off the line, but I do a lot of highway cruising with my '86 so the 3.08 gears are just fine. The 700R4 has a lower 1st and 2nd gear ratio than the turbo 350 so that helps as well.

 

[SirRobyn0]

My truck the ESC went down . I put in a regular HEI I messed with it springs,weights,vacuum can initial. I never got it to run as a total package as well as it did with ESC. Same with @SirRobyn0 he chronicles all the changes he made over the coarse of a year,finally when it was all said and done,it was back as an ESC truck. He documented it all recorded gas milage etc. I can tell you mine runs better with esc. But I didn't document anything. Working ESC is best in my truck. I suspect yours never worked right. So it's real similiar to the I took off a messed up Qjet and put on an Edelbrock and it runs great stories. But you never hear anybody say I compared a Fresh Quadrajet to an Edelbrock.

I haven't the time to read though the entire thread or to dig up my old thread and link it, but ya for my truck the ESC needs to be there for it run with any kind of power and get the best gas mileage it can.